How ‘green’ is your waterproof jacket?

In the face of unpredictable weather conditions, waterproof jackets have become key items in many people’s wardrobes.

But
new research from the University of Leeds suggests that the use of controversial
fluorochemicals in the manufacture of most of these garments may be
unnecessary.

The
chemistry used to repel rain from fabric has raised concerns from European
legislative bodies, academia and environmentalists.

As
well as posing potential risks to the environment, fluorocarbons have also been
associated with health problems in humans.

Some
clothing brands have switched to alternative chemistries, but many have claimed
it is challenging to meet other repellency requirements  such as stain
resistance and the ability to repel oil  without the use of fluorochemicals.

Research
from Leeds School of Design, published in the journal Chemosphere, has for the first time compared
the performance of fabrics with newer, alternative finishes alongside ones
treated with fluorocarbons.

In
addition to subjecting samples of 22 different fabrics to extensive chemical
analysis and testing, the Leeds team surveyed 575 outdoor enthusiasts who
regularly hiked, trekked, mountaineer and go hill-walking,
about how they used such clothing.

Repelling water

Most
studies just look at technical aspects or environmental pollution, but we
wanted to see what consumers considered the most important factors in choosing
outdoor clothing, said Philippa Hill, whose PhD research is the subject of
the paper.

We found that 82% of people considered water
repellency to be the most important factor, but the majority of people were
indifferent to levels of stain resistance and oil repellency  one participant
even said I dont get oily when walking, added Miss Hill.

Dr Richard Blackburn heads the Sustainable Materials
Research Group at Leeds, a world-leading centre in sustainable textiles
research.

He
said: We concluded that the use of fluorochemicals in outdoor apparel
represents over-engineering, providing oil repellency that is in excess of user
requirements.

Significant
environmental and toxicological benefits could be achieved by switching outdoor
apparel to non-fluorinated finishes without a significant reduction in garment
water-repellency performance.

Leeds
School of Design has a long-standing relationship with the outdoor clothes industry and
used world-class in-house clothing testing facilities to compare the
performance of fabric samples supplied by various manufacturers and brands,
which were finished with either fluorochemicals, non-fluorinated chemistry, or
were untreated.

Performance
clothing lecturer Dr Mark Taylor, also from the School of Design, said:
We found water repellency ratings were similar across the range of all
finished fabrics tested. Non-fluorinated finishes provided no oil repellency,
as expected.

Sustainability
is a growing concern within the textile and clothing industry, which uses a
quarter of all the chemicals produced across the globe. They are used to alter
fabric properties such as feel, flame-retardancy and water-repellency, as well
as colour.

Its very important that sustainability should be about better chemistry.

Dr Richard Balckburn

Dr
Blackburn added: Its very important that sustainability should be about
better chemistry. Consumers dont need to compromise on performance for the
sake of the environment. However, for all products and processes we have to
weigh up if the requirements we are aiming for are fit for purpose.

Once
economies of scale kicked in, he said the relatively new-to-market non-fluorinated
fabrics were unlikely to be more expensive than their counterparts.

The
teams conclusions are being explored by further research into the effects of
laundering, abrasion and aging on the various fabrics.

Pamela Ravasio
is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability with the European
Outdoor Group, which represents
the sector.

She said: The
European Outdoor Group welcomes this new research, which adds scientific
insight and data to this complex and multi-faceted issue. One of the key
challenges we encounter as an industry is that there is very little reliable,
scientifically-based data available.

This limits
understanding of the long-term environmental and health impacts of the new
chemistries  such knowledge is also critical to avoid new chemistries being
introduced which turn out to be even more harmful than those they
replace.

We look
forward to further research that will increase knowledge and contribute to
better technologies."

Further information

Substitution of PFAS chemistry in outdoor apparel and the
impact on repellency performance by Philippa J Hill, Mark Taylor, Parikshit
Goswami and Richard S Blackburn, is published in the latest issue of Chemosphere.

For
interviews or a copy of the paper, contact University of Leeds Media Relations
Manager Gareth Dant on 0113 3433996 or g.j.dant@leeds.ac.uk.